What keeps you from playing?

[sigmoidkilo]

I thought about staying away from this post, because I really think we have a good community here. But, I think this can be positive. I’ll folllow Durandal’s style and bullet my points

(1) I have a full time job where I work 50 hours a week, and also go to school to study math (full time). Add in raising two children, and it’s easy to see I don’t have much time to game at all.

(2) Some negativity does exist, but I’ve learned very quickly to just ignore it. The biggest thing I see is OORP hate which leads to “wars”. That’s certainly a real issue, and it can deter people from logging the characters for those factions. I’m not hugely into PvP, I’m here for RP. So, if I’m going to log in to be hunted, I may just log one of my traders.

(3) Many factions don’t seem to allow you to make a small commitment. I’m not going to say this is always the case, because the factions I’m in understand where my priorities are. But it is very clear to me that a huge number of faction leaders expect you you treat this as a part time job. While I’m particularly motivated to be involved in the community, this just isn’t realistic.

Now that I’ve had a bit of a whine, let’s end on a positive note. I left Disco in late 2011, and came back about three weeks ago. This means that I’ve been gone for over six years. I saw someone else talk about this, and it’s completely true. The amount that has changed in disco is incredible. When I left, PoBs were just starting to be discussed (I think). Events almost never happened. Worst of all, making credits in the game was a huge grind, and tech was not easy to attain. I’ve been hugely shocked by the fact that you can buy code names at bases...

Beyond that, this community is truly special. Upon my return, I was able to find my old faction, and was welcomed back immediately.

So to the staff, and the community: Great work, and thank you. I’m very impressed with where we are today.